Quote:
|
Of course other taxes don't exist (Sales/income) in NH, so in fairness total tax burden should be assessed. But it is easy to see why a retired property owner on a limited income (wouldn't pay much income tax) who doesn't buy much (wouldn't pay much sales tax) is getting squeezed...
|
Actually, NH does have a personal "income" tax that many people are not aware of. Most interest and dividends are taxed by the state at 5%. This means that everyone who has saved and invested during their working years in CDs, bonds, stocks and/or mutual funds that were not in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-deferred account must pay 5% on the interest and dividends those investments produce.
People whose employers do not provide 401(k)s, for example, or who may have gotten a late start in their retirement planning and who had to invest more than an IRA would allow each year, must pay 5% on most or all the income their non-IRA investments produce. As a result, retirees who live off the interest and/or dividends from those investments do, in effect, pay a 5% "income" tax in addition to their property tax.